2.11.2015

How to Grow out your Hair.

We are going to shift gears a little today and talk hair instead of fitness. It's been a long road to not only grow out my hair, but to get it healthy again so I thought I would share a few of my tips.

1. Get rid of the blonde.

I really really hate to say this, I'm a die hard blondie. I was a blonde baby, a blonde kid, then it just kinda went dirty dishwater on me and I had to work for those shiny blonde locks. Well, after years and years of trying to maintain it my hair just couldn't anymore, it was dry and breaking. Even keeping it short wasn't working for me so I slowly added in darker chunks. I was scared, once upon a time I tried to go dark and hated it, but for some reason the dark suited me better now.

I kept some blonde around my face at first, but slowly phased that out, darkening up gradually helped me adjust to my new coloring better.

2. Give your hair a rest!

I believe your hair is your crowning glory, that's why I take the time to fix it so much. I work full time during the week and because I workout 4 out of 5 of those days my hair needs almost constant heat of some sort to make it look decent. I usually do my hair up in a braid at least once a week.

Braiding my hair is something new I've been doing and freaking hair bloggers make it look real dang easy, it's not! It takes trial and error along with lots of practice! Here are a few of my favorite go to's for inspiration:

On the weekends I try to do as little as possible to my hair, I wash it Saturday after my workout, use some Balanced Guru No Frizz Balancing Oil
on it, put it up in a loose bun and call it a day until Monday, doing this consistently has exponentially improved my hair!

3. Use good products.
Here are some of my favorites, keep in mind that I have thinish straight hair that damages easily.
1. Pureology 21
- after I wet my hair I spray this on the ends mostly before blow drying.
2. Redken Hot Sets
- before I curl only - give protection and a light hold.
3. Pureology Hydrate Shampoo/ Conditioner is my absolute love, but at 20 bucks each it's heartbreaking to buy, here's a cheaper alternative I've been using with good results - Suave Professionals Moroccan Infusion the thing I notice most about cheaper shampoo is I have to switch brands often to keep my hair looking decent.

4. Stop what you're doing.
1. Do not wash your hair every day! It's very drying and I tend to have oily roots and workout a lot, but you need to find a way to keep that shampoo off it. I like dry shampoos and braids for 'off' days.
2. Stop stop stop 'trimming' your hair! Cutting off you 'dead ends' will not make your hair grow - treat your hair with a mask or coconut oil if it's really bad and keep the heat away for a while.

3. Never ever ever (in the words of Taylor) curl with out protection.

5. Embrace your locks.

Finally, whatever type of hair you have learn to love it. Don't force it to be something it's not - your stylist is not a magician. You can't be pulling out a picture of a short sassy do when you just don't have the time or energy to fix it daily.

25 comments
:

I also have hair like yours and it's gotten extremely long. I've learned to only wash it every 2-3 days. I swear by putting oil in it, heat protectant AND I SWEAR BY It's a Miracle Big 10 Leave in conditioner after a fresh wash. it's not cheap but I have found that Target or Walgreens will sell 2 of them packaged together for a good price. Also since I have such fine hair sea salt sprays are my new best friend to create texture. Between that and Big Sexy Hair Powder Play I can create some great waves/curles.

Thanks for the tips! It's taken me a LONG time to get mine grown out and to keep it growing, but the top layer around my face always ends up getting fried looking and icky and then needs to get cleaned up by a trimming. I'll try some of your tips and tricks!

I know one time you mentioned something about a cleansing conditioner that you had found--how did you like that? Also-any recommendations on what's worked for you for dry shampoo? I tried Suave and the smell was very strong and I have been too afraid to try something else.

Your hair looks so good right now, like I have hair envy! I have been using Pureology since August and it's made such a difference in my hair. As soon as I run out of Maroccan oil, I plan to purchase Bumble and Bumble Invisible Oil. I've seen lots of reviews on the product and sounds like my hair could benefit from it. I have thick, natural curly hair that I straighten daily.

I'm a licensed cosmetologist and trimming your hair actually WILL make your hair grow. Even though some don't believe it. So no, don't stop trimming your hair! You have to 'cut off those dead ends' to keep it healthy. Otherwise your split ends will just continue to split all the way up your hair strands and will make it worse. And your dead ends will continue to break off. Learned it in school. I have girls who get their regular trims and their hair is long, healthy growing hair. It's not like you have to cut inches off. Half inch every 8-12 weeks. The longest parts of your hair is the oldest. It becomes fragile with age. That's why you see girls with long hair but the bottom half is thin and stringy. It's because they never got trims.

I only wash my hair a couple times a week (but I also have very thick hair) and I use dry shampoo like it's going out of style. Batiste is my favorite "low end". They even have one for brunettes! Sebastian dry shampoo is my favorite though. It gives ridiculous volume and works amazingly! (you can find both at Ulta)

I have thin, fine hair and have FINALLY gotten to where I don't wash daily. I DO however use a water bottle, wet it and blow dry it again. My hair girl suggests using baby powder at night. I do on occasion but not always.

It has taken me a LONG time to embrace my wavy / curly hair...but once I did, my routine is so much faster! Leave-in product plus finger curls plus air dry = winning! Right now I like Be Curly from Aveda. I also wash only 2-3x a week.

I just finally learned that I am a short hair girl. When I stopped trying to grow it out and found a cute, short cut that is perfect for me, I made peace with it. I get compliments all the time on my hair now that its shorter. And I too have stopped washing daily. It's tough at first!

I had hair down to the middle of my back and got a pixie cut a few years ago. It was great because I started fresh with absolutely no hair color. I'm letting it grow out now but with just a few highlights. I was the same as you, blonde as a kid and darker as I got older. I also sell ItWorks products and we have a great product for growing and strengthening your hair and nails if you're interested. You can check out my fb page for lots of results photos. Look up Tamara Lyn Arion Wenzel.

I've been a cosmetologist for almost 10 years. Please do not stop trimming your hair!! Split ends will split all the way to the root of the hair and damage the follicle. Trimming the tiniest bit helps to keep the hair healthy and grow. On average hair grows .5-1 inch a month. That's substantial. Always protect from heat and styling tools. There is such a thing as over moisturizing!! And please don't use drug store shampoos....they have wax fillers in them which increases build up and oils. Shampooing strops the natural oils from your hair. I only shampoo once every 5-7 days. I have fine hair that's medium length. I have converted so many women to not shampoo daily, even after working out :)

I said the same thing up in the comments. Don't stop trimming!! It will move up and split your whole strand. Not good!! Gotta trim it and keep it healthy! It's a fact!! I too am a cosmetologist. And very true about the Suave and other store products. Not good. You get what you pay for.

Ever wonder why your hair doesn't grow, yet you have 3" of dark roots? It is growing, but split ends and breakage are keeping it from getting longer. There is a big difference! Please correct this with your readers. I'm cringing! Only trims fix damaged, broken hair. Not oils and creams!

Yeah oils and creams aren't gonna fix or prevent breakage. Then when you go forever without a trim and later you want your dead ends off...well then it's too late and you'll have to cut off probably 4+ inches of dead hair. So much for growing it out. Please please please leave the hair advice to the professionals.

I was noticing the other day how much longer your hair has gotten. I think it makes you look younger! A couple of hair tips I have....when my hair feels bogged down by product I add some baking soda to my shampoo (I just put shampoo in my hand and sprinkle it with baking soda). It removes all the residue and makes my hair so soft! I also will use coconut oil on my ends when they feel really dry - mostly during the summer months when my hair is more dry. I have very curly hair.

These are great! I really need to be better at using a heat protectant on my hair. I also agree with the washing - I actually only wash my hair once a week. And yeah I usually work out every day too and so it can be gross. But I do a lot of ponytails and braids (like you) to cover it. I also use a curling iron to flatten out the frizzies from sweat and working out. I'm probably grossing people out but it's not that bad. Seriously. And you can also use dry shampoo too. I also use coconut or macadamia oil and that helps a lot, also a protein spray. Once every 2 weeks I'll do a conditioning treatment - my hair dresser explained that the molecules in those are much smaller than regular conditioner and so it penetrates into the hair better which is why it is recommended. Anyway. Just my 2 cents.